Press Release
For Immediate Release
Colby Students Raise $2,363 for Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers
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WATERVILLE, Maine - May is National Scholarship Month and the Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers and three students from Colby College have good reason to celebrate. Through a course at Colby College called "Learning by Giving: Non Profit Organizations and Philanthropy," students Lisa Kaplan, Stefanie Solar and Hilary Walker successfully wrote and implemented a grant that awarded the Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers $2,363, that will support summer camp scholarships for nine Maine children.
At the beginning of the spring semester, Charles A. Dana Professor of Sociology at Colby College, Dr. Thomas J. Morrione, contacted non profits across Maine to encourage participation in a philanthropy project. The course titled, "Learning by Giving: Non Profit Organizations and Philanthropy," involved grant writing and provided students a realistic reflection of the work at non profit organizations.
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Colby College students Hilary Walker, Lisa Kaplan and Stefanie Solar celebrate their work with Steve Mayberry from Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers. |
As part of the project, Dr. Morrione developed course guidelines and applied for a $10,000 grant from the "Sunshine Lady Foundation," founded by philanthropist Doris Buffet, sister of billionaire Warren Buffet.
After the grant was awarded to the class, students had to decide which non profits should receive portions of the grant. Students were not allowed to divide the sum equally among groups.
Out of over 60 Maine-based non profit organizations that applied, the students selected the Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers as one of the organizations because of the agency's long history and ongoing commitment to bettering families' lives throughout Maine for over 112 years.
Lisa Kaplan ('13) from Cape Elizabeth, Maine, majoring in Government and International Studies; Stefanie Solar ('11) from Houston, Texas, majoring in International Studies and Anthropology; and Hilary Walker ('11) from Lincoln, Massachusetts, majoring in International Studies, all volunteered their efforts at The Maine Children's Home for this philanthropy inspired project.
The project was especially rewarding for seniors Stefanie Solar and Hilary Walker who were able to give back to the community prior to Colby College commencement on Sunday, May 22.
The students worked together with the Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers staff to raise funds for the organization's summer camp scholarship program, a program that has been sponsoring children to attend summer camp since 1967.
"The Maine Children's Home is constantly looking for opportunities to further connect with the families throughout Maine through the agency's many programs and to connect with the surrounding communities that support our non profit initiatives. We could not be happier to work with Colby College students and provide meaningful learning experiences for the students involved," said Steve Mayberry, development director at the Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers.
The philanthropic-based class at Colby College allowed the students to serve as the grant awarding foundation and provided the class with experiences in writing and evaluating the grant process for local non profit organizations.
"The "learning by doing" aspect of the course is especially exciting and reflects one of Colby's guiding educational precepts of striving to extend learning beyond the classroom. The students involved in this class were highly motivated and deeply engaged in learning about local nonprofits," said Dr. Tom Morrione, professor at Colby College.
The students from the one-of-a-kind course offered at Colby College tailored mission plans for each of the carefully selected non profit organizations. In addition to the Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers grant of $2,363, the Children's Center of Augusta, the Sexual Assault Crisis and Support Center, Viles Arboretum and Literacy Volunteers all received financial support from the class and the students.
Representatives of The Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers and the students from Colby College are available for interviews about the project by contacting Greg Glynn at Nancy Marshall Communications at 207-623-4177.
###About The Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers
The Maine Children's Home, a full Hague-accredited adoption program, provides assistance to families hoping to adopt internationally or domestically. The Maine Children's Home, founded in 1899, gives children and Maine families hope for the future and a chance at a better life. In addition to the adoption program, the agency offers outpatient counseling, the Teen Parent School Program, The Children's Place early care and education center, a summer camp scholarship program, and a Christmas Program that provides clothing and toys to underprivileged Maine children. To learn more, visit www.mainechildrenshome.org .
